Hong Myung-bo Spent 14 Million Won on Corporate Card at Hotels and Restaurants Near Home Without Submitting Explanation Document

Also Used on Public Holidays Such as Children’s Day and Memorial Day

It has been revealed that former national football team manager Hong Myung-bo made payments totaling 14 million won with the Korea Football Association’s corporate card at hotels and restaurants near his home but did not submit any explanation documents.

Former South Korean national soccer team coach Hong Myung-bo, who recorded the worst performance in history by failing to advance to the Round of 32 in the 2026 North and Central America World Cup, is returning home through Incheon International Airport Terminal 2 on June 30, 2026. Photo by Kang Jinhyung

According to the corporate card usage records submitted to Assemblywoman Jin Sunmi of the Democratic Party by the Korea Football Association on July 28, the total amount spent with the corporate card by Hong from July 2024 to May 2026 was 37.42 million won. Of this, 14.06 million won was used in Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, near his residence.

Payments at Hotels and Restaurants Near Home... Also Used on Public Holidays

The places of use included hotels, Korean barbecue restaurants, and hangover soup eateries near Hong’s residence. There are also records showing payments of several hundred thousand won at businesses in Bundang-gu on public holidays such as Children’s Day, Memorial Day, and Liberation Day.

According to the Korea Football Association’s guidelines for business operation expenses, use of the corporate card is restricted on holidays, near one’s residence, and in remote areas outside the assigned jurisdiction. If it is unavoidable to use the card in such cases, the user must provide objective evidence for business purposes, such as business trip records, or submit an explanation document.

Responding to these issues, the Korea Football Association stated that while they did not receive any explanation documents regarding payments made near Hong’s home, receipts included information about attendees and the number of people present, and the card usage details were reviewed once a month.

In addition, after the Korea Football Association conducted a corporate card usage training for all staff in May last year, Hong still spent a total of 9.94 million won using the corporate card near his residence.

Repeated Use at Department Stores Despite Private Use Controversy

In the past, the Korea Football Association even issued a public apology to the nation in 2016 due to private misuse of the corporate card. Nevertheless, there are ongoing concerns that card payments continue to be made at department stores and gas stations. According to records compiled by Assemblywoman Jin’s office on the association’s corporate card payments from January 2021 to July this year, there were 218 department store transactions totaling 26,025,980 won and 300 gas station transactions totaling 51,882,527 won, based on merchant codes from the credit card company.

Notably, during this period, former technical director Lim Im-seng made three payments totaling 546,000 won at major department stores such as Lotte Department Store and Hyundai Department Store. Hong also spent 160,000 won at department stores such as Shinsegae Department Store. There are reportedly no specific restrictions in the association’s guidelines on using corporate cards at department stores or for children’s clothing.

Assemblywoman Jin stated, “The standards for using corporate cards should be clarified to the same level as in other sports associations, and a comprehensive overhaul of the management system is urgently needed since the association is not even making proper disclosures.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.